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| Taxol - found by a @USDA botanist screening plants for new cancer drugs - enhances microtubule stability, interfering with cell division. Originally isolated from the bark of Taxus brevifolia, then chemically synthesized, now grown in cell culture. |
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| Another complex structure: moroidin - a bicyclic peptide with unusual leu-trp and trp-his links (in yellow). Found in Dendrocnide moroides (Urticaceae), it's a tubulin polymerization inhibitor that gives the plant's silica-tipped hairs a sting! |
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| Two harmala alkaloids - harmine and harmaline - from (among others) Banisteriopsis caapi, aka ayahuasca (Malpighiales). These fluorescent beta-carbolines are monoamine oxidase inhibitors - an activity that promotes the psychoactive effects of DMT. |
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| Thinking about garden layout? Don't forget companion Chrysanthemums. Several species produce pyrethrins - a group of biodegradable, insecticidal (terpenoid!) compounds. These alternatives to synthetic pyrethroids (permethrin) can reduce aquatic poisonings. |
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